One of the problems of the aged in American society is seen here as related to their ambivalence over impending dependency. In order to test this assumption, this research plans to examine one ethnic group, the Italian Americans, who have not adopted the value of independence and who have maintained a pattern of interdependence in their family system and primary social networks. The study will focus on the mechanisms of attachment to or detachment from the family by examining the following areas: independence training of children, age segregation in family activities, reciprocity in kinship relationships, tolerance of dependency in crises situations, and values orientation (ego-centric or sociocentric). From these areas, a measure of interdependence will be constructed and related to attitudes and behaviors toward the aged. Three samples will be compared in order to determine the influence of ethnicity, social class and generation level: Italian American families residing in ethnic neighborhoods, geographically and socially mobile Italian Americans residing in middle class, ethnically heterogeneous suburbs and a matched population of families of Protestant, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, or German ancestry. A fourth sample of elderly Italian Americans will be studied in order to determine the quality and frequency of interaction with children, the number of statuses occupied and morale measures. Semi-structured interviews in addition to forced-choice questions and projective tests will be administered.